Guitar Help!

[nissan]

So I've recently started playing the guitar, and I wanna play death metal. I have no idea how bands make the sounds they make haha. I know their guitars are tuned pretty low, and I'm looking to tune mine, but I have a floyd rose and it's hard to tune that thing hahaha. I was looking up some tabs from bands I like, and I read that each of their strings are tuned to a different letter... So that means there's so many combinations... I don't wanna be tuning the floyd rose every day to a different tuning! Is there one that most metal bands use... one that's pretty standard?

Plus can anyone link me to some nice tabs. The type of music I like is really headbang epic riffing - the type u hear a lot of on behemoth and the newer bloodbath album. Any easy to learn song tabs and advice on my earlier question would be really appreciated thanks!

 

[Vacant_Planets]

Not all bands are tuned low, Death uses D standard, Deicide uses Eb I believe and so on. The most popular is probably D standard.

 

[BlackMetalWhiteGuy]

I'm going to guess that D standard is the most common, although I don't really know. "Standard" tuning is EADGBE, from the thickest string to the thinnest. D standard is a whole step (two half steps) lower, so it will be DGCFAD. Dropped D and dropped C are also common among nu-metal bands, but I would avoid those if you want to be taken seriously as a musician. They are tuned to DADGBE and CGCFAD respectively. This makes it easier to play power chords, which in ordinary D standard tablature look like this:

2
2
0

or

7
7
5

etc...

In dropped D tuning, those same chords would be played like this:

0
0
0

or

5
5
5

Dropped C would play them like this:

2
2
2

or

7
7
7

To produce metal music, you're going to want to be familiar with minor and phrygian scales, as well as harmonic minor and phrygian dominant.

I've been planning on posting an instructional thread with tablature jpegs and MIDIs, that will better explain what these scales are and how they all interrelate, for a while now, but haven't gotten to it yet. When I do, I'll bump this thread with a link

 

[billcraftmetal15]

Dropped D and dropped C are also common among nu-metal bands, but I would avoid those if you want to be taken seriously as a musician.

There is so much stupidity in this statement...

Seriously, go think about what other reasons people tune to a dropped tuning, yeah, a lot of shit nu-metal bands use drop tuning to play power chords more easily, but don't forget that a drop tuning is only the same as playing in an open tuning with high strings tuned up a step.

Extending the range of your instrument to play something is very useful.

So yeah, lets not take you seriously because you play in whatever tuning you play in. Shut up dude. No offence intended, but i really dislike that.

 

[The Emptier]

So I've recently started playing the guitar, and I wanna play death metal. I have no idea how bands make the sounds they make haha. I know their guitars are tuned pretty low, and I'm looking to tune mine, but I have a floyd rose and it's hard to tune that thing hahaha. I was looking up some tabs from bands I like, and I read that each of their strings are tuned to a different letter... So that means there's so many combinations... I don't wanna be tuning the floyd rose every day to a different tuning! Is there one that most metal bands use... one that's pretty standard?

Plus can anyone link me to some nice tabs. The type of music I like is really headbang epic riffing - the type u hear a lot of on behemoth and the newer bloodbath album. Any easy to learn song tabs and advice on my earlier question would be really appreciated thanks!

wtf...who gets a floyd when they first start?

 

[Vacant_Planets]

wtf...who gets a floyd when they first start?

I did, and I still would if I was starting over again.

 

[hibernal_dream]

There is so much stupidity in this statement...

Seriously, go think about what other reasons people tune to a dropped tuning, yeah, a lot of shit nu-metal bands use drop tuning to play power chords more easily, but don't forget that a drop tuning is only the same as playing in an open tuning with high strings tuned up a step.

Extending the range of your instrument to play something is very useful.

So yeah, lets not take you seriously because you play in whatever tuning you play in. Shut up dude. No offence intended, but i really dislike that.

I actually agree with the other guy. There are many reasons why you don't drop tune. You want to learn moveable chords and scales, all that theory and practice and improvisation skills are wasted if you drop tune.

 

[billcraftmetal15]

They aren't wasted! At all. If you know you're instrument well enough it's just a matter of the notes being a tone higher than where you would normally expect them to be, it's not rocket science is it. Not to mention that you can get whole new chord voicings out of a dropped or open tuning which can be really cool. But if you want to just play in Standard tuning forever, thats great, have fun with it. Drop is useful, standard is useful, anything is useful if you know what you're doing.

 

[Vacant_Planets]

I actually agree with the other guy. There are many reasons why you don't drop tune. You want to learn moveable chords and scales, all that theory and practice and improvisation skills are wasted if you drop tune.

Exactly.

 

[billcraftmetal15]

Goddamn, you lot are stubborn. Ahh well, at least with you guys you won't tune to drop, which is a hell of a lot better than all the fuckers around here who just won't learn how to play in standard. That fucks me off too.